Investment Company Institute v. Camp

Under the Glass-Steagall Act, commercial banks were prohibited from engaging in investment-banking activities. In 1962, Congress gave the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (the comptroller) the authority to oversee most trust activities of national banks. Accordingly, the comptroller promulgated Regulation 9, which authorized national banks to establish and operate collective-investment funds. First National City Bank of New York (First National), a commercial bank, applied to the comptroller for permission to operate a collective-investment fund and sell units, or interests, in the fund. First National planned to solicit funds for investment from the bank’s customers with an authorization from the customers who agreed to appoint First National as their managing agent. The comptroller approved First National’s plan to offer a collective-investment fund. The Investment Company Institute (the institute) (plaintiff), a trade association of investment funds, sued the comptroller and First National, arguing that Regulation 9’s authorization of the operation of collective-investment funds by commercial banks violated the Glass-Steagall Act. The district court found that the challenged portion of Regulation 9 was invalid. The court of appeals found Regulation 9 compatible with the Glass-Steagall Act and reversed the district court’s judgment. The institute appealed.